Trip-lever bath waste mechanism



Ja. 21, 1930. K. s. cLow ET AL.

TRIP LEVER BATH wAsTE MECHANISM Filed Deo. 24, 1928 Patented Jan. 21, 193@ a sorts,

TR-P-LHVER Application tiled. ."eccznber ed that it niav be substantiall f ierrnanentl 0 .l

secured to the fixture and yet niay easily be raised to perrnit water to escape troni the lint-ure or lowered to close he outletorilice oiE the fixture against egress oit water. ln this connection the construction is such that the outlet plug niay be raised only partially to permit the inspection oli the outlet and its connections or the insertion of tools or other ineans into the oriiice tor any purpose.

Another object of the invention to provide a novel arrangement tor operating aplug of the aforementioned character troni a position or place reniote from the outlet oriliee as, tor instance, the overflow connection oif 'the fixture.

lnother object ot the invention is to provide a novel type of combination escutcheon plate and overtlow oritice.

litany other objects as well as the advantages and uses ot the invention will be or should become readily appreciated and understood ai'ter reading the following' description and elainis, and alter viewingv the lrawing; et a preferred torni thereof, in which drawing lligg. l is a vertical section through an end portion oi a plumbing fixture such as a bathtub, showing` he invention applied thereto,

lig. 2 is a front or plan view ot the outu 7et plug@` operating` handle and combination escutcheon plate and overliow outlet nieniber,

3 is a top plan view oit the outlet plug shown in l, and

Figi'. lis a top pian view of a fragment ci a portion ot the operating ineens for the plug.

rlhe plumbing fixture, which tor the purpose oit this description will be assumed to be a batlntnbj is inode of enaineled iron or vitreous ware is designated 2 and is provided OF LAKE FRIEST, AED

ly'lfllil WASTE with a waste outlet orifice 3 in the bottoni ant. preferably adjacent one end., and an overtiow outlet orilice pieter-ably adjacent the top at the saine end. The margin oiC the lixture about the waste orilice is preferably bevelled oil", as shown at 5, to provide a shoulder against which an outwardly tapered flange 6 ot a. ping' ineniber or spurl is seated. The shank S of the Spud is threaded as shown at 9 for threaded engagement with internal threads ol elbow fitting ll beveen a shoulder l2 oit' which and the bottoni ot the tub a rubber gasket or a washer i3 is disposed and clamped.

The seat ineniber or spud liizting` 7 is provided with a ground seat against which a ground seat l5 of a plug;` lo is adapted to seat in a substantially water-tight manner. The plug lo is provided with a projection i7 at one side and is arranged to be disposed between a pair ot spaced lugs 8 preferably integral with the liange 6 oi the spud fitting'. rllhe lugs 18 and the projection l? are drilled through Jior the reception oi" a hinge or pivot pin lll which inay be secured against displacement in any suitable manner provided it perniits the plug to swing between the dotted and iull line positions indicated in Fig. l. The lower side or bottoni of the plug,- is preferably provided with an integral projection 2l which terminates in a pair ot spaced lugs 22 (one shown) between which one end olf a lever or link 913 is pivotally secured on a pivot pin 2l. The end et the lever or link pivoted between the lugs 22 has a portion flattened oil :tor cooperation with a tie-.t bottenJ 2G off the slot between the projections or lugs 22 so that the lever cannot nieve beyond a substantially vertical position with respect to the plane of the plug; in antioloclwise direction viewingv lllig. l, that is, away troni the hinge. rlhe opposite corner ot' this end of the lever Q3 is rounded oil as shown at 27 to permit the lever to swing' toward the hinge l@ such as is illustrated in the uppermost dotted line position et the plug.

The overflow orifice t is covered on the inside of the tub or lixture by an escutcheon plate 28 which has a portion 29 struck out to provide a gap or opening 31 and a central hollow boss 32 within which a hollow shaft 33 is journalled. This escutcheon plate is held in place by suitable screws 34 which pass into appropriate lugs (not shown) formed integral with an elbow fitting 35. Between a circumferential shoulder S6 on the fitting 35 and the back of the wall of the tub or other fixture is a rubber washer or gasket 37.

The elbow fittings 11 and 35 are connecti ed together and to a common drain pipe 38 by means of pipes 39 and 41 respectively, and a T-coupling 4Q. This arrangement of connections from waste orifice or overflow orifice is quite common and for such reason it is not deemed necessary to go into the details of it here. The plug 16 is adapted to be raised, that is, swung about its hinge to an open position by means of the lever 23, and for the purpose of operating the lever its lower end is pivotally connected as at 43 to a flexible rod and. ball chain 44 similar to the chains very commonly used for electric light switches and the like. The chain 44 passes through the waste pipe 39 and up the overflow pipe 41 to the outlet orifice for connection to a hand operable member. The hand operable member is the sleeve or hollow shaft 33 which at its end inward of the tub or other fixture is provided with a handle 45 secured to it by a screw 46 and by splines or other means to prevent relative rotation, as will be understood. The inner end of the sleeve or shaft 33 is provided with an offset portion 47 apertured as shown at 48 for passage of the balls or links of the chain 44, while a spring 49 disposed between a shoulder 51 formed on the end of the sleeve 33 and a shoulder 52 provided by the end of the boss serves to urge the sleeve inwardly of the fitting and hold a collar tightly against the escutcheon plate 28. A set screw 54 is adapted to pass through the collar 53 and the sleeve 33 and engage between links of the chain, in this case, the balls thereof, to secure it to the sleeve. Preferably interposed intermediate of the ends of the chain is a spring 55 for the purpose of absorbing shocks and for the purpose of providing a certain amount of resilience in case the chain should become caught.

In operation, assuming it is desired to drain water from the fixture, in this case, the tub, the handle 45 is rotated either to the right or left, clockwise or anti-clockwise, which movement, due to the offset portion 47 of the sleeve 33, tends to wind up on the chain 44 and exerts a pull on it. This pull on the chain 44 pulls the lever .25 to the dotted line position illustrated at 23 and the plug 16 to the dotted line position 16', as will be apparent, the tension of the spring 49 placing sufficient friction on the operating parts of the handle mechanism to hold the handle in its rotated position until it may be released. The surfaces 25 and 2G of the lever and plug cooperate during this operation to prevent the lever from swinging beyond a predetermined fixed angle with respect to the plug; in the embodiment illustrated approximately 90o with respect thereto.

In case it is desired to remove dbris that has accumulated in the drain or overflow pipes, or it becomes necessary to repair or replace the chain 44, or it is necessary to have access to the interior of the outlet or waste orifice7 it is desirable that the plug 15 be raised sufficiently entirely to clear the orifice. This is accomplished by returning the handle 45 to its initial or what may be termed its Zero position to release the chain and the tension on the spring 55, at the same time pulling upwardly on the plug 1G with the fingers or with a tool. Release of the' chain and the vconstruction and arrangement of the end of the lever pivoted to the plug permits the plug to be raised to the position illustrated at 16, the lever assuming the position illustrated at 23". In this position access to the fitting 11 or the pipe 89 etc. may be had with practically the same ease were the plug entirely removable from the fixture. iVhen it desired to insert a new chain, this may be more easily accomplished with the plugl raised to its position.

lhile the invention has been illustrated and described in its preferred form, it will be appreciated that it is susceptible of many changes, modifications and variations bearing little resemblance to such preferred form, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

7e claim:

1. In combination, a plumbing fixture such as described having a waste outlet orifice, a plug seat member having a seat extending about said orifice, a waste plug secured to said member by a hinge at one side and engageable with said seat, a rigid lever pivoted at one end to the underside of said plug, means for limiting pivotal movement of said lever and plug relatively in one direction, said plug and lever being relatively movable in another direction, and reciprocable means connected with the other end of said lever and movable in one direction to engage said limiting means and raise said plug a predetermined distance from said seat, said pivotal connection of said lever permitting said plug to be raised a greater distance from its seat.

Q. In combination, a fixture having a waste outlet orifice, a plug seat member having a seat extending around said orifice, a hinge on said member adjacent said seat, a waste plug hinged at one side to said hinge, a projection connected with the underside of said plug, tensioning means external of said fixture and connected with said projection, a predetermined tension on said means in one all mariee direction serving to swing said plug on said binge trein said seat, and a break connection between said tensioning ineans and said plug whereby said ping may be swung; manually to a greater distance "from said seat Wlien said tensioning means is released.

3. lin combination, a tirztnre having a Waste outlet orilice and an everllow oriliee reinote troni and above said Waste orifice, waste and overlloiv pipes connected to said liiitnre at said orifices respectively and connected vvitl eaeli other, a plug seat in ,said Waste eriliee, a plug` adapted to seat on said seat trein the interior of said iixture, a binge securing said plug relatively to said liXtui-e, the axis of said binge being; disposed transverse the general direction ol said Waste pipe and at a side et said Waste orilioe remote from the Connection et said Waste and overflow pipes, a lever.l pivotally connected at one end to the betteln side of said plugl on an anis parallel tbe axis oi said binge, said lever being; movable only between a position substantially at right anglee to the plane ont said plug and a position substantially parallel thereto with the opposite end or said lever toward said hingej and 'tension ineens connect-ed with lsaid oppesite end of said lever, extending through sait pipes to said overflow oriliee and operable tliereat Ylor swinging said plug; about said hinge a distance to open said Waste orifice, said plug,` by reason of said pivotally eenneeted lever being; adapted to be swung a greater distance about said hinge upon. release ot said tension means.

lln Witness of tlie foregoing We our signatures.

KENT S. CLON. JOHN A. BYERS. 

